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[namragog]

Regarding unlocking stuff, it may be ludicrously expensive, but at least you get to keep your stuff once you've unlocked it. I've played games where you can only "rent" weapons instead of buying them. Those are terrible, especially when they run on real-world time rather than gameplay time. Though I do find it kinda silly to have to unlock classes...

The entirety of this post is 100% truth. Blacklight: retribution looked and played great, but it would take around 6 days of nonstop play to get a different color skin for your gun that would last a total of three days. It's so dumb.

[Dragonmaw]

i bit the bullet and got the thumper and stealth spinfusor with real world money

all of a sudden my effectiveness skyrockets

seriously though if you do the preorder pack get all the classes first then unlock the thumper and stealth spinfusor they are so much better than defaults

[Blademasterbobo]

i bit the bullet and got the thumper and stealth spinfusor with real world money

all of a sudden my effectiveness skyrockets

seriously though if you do the preorder pack get all the classes first then unlock the thumper and stealth spinfusor they are so much better than defaults

and that's why ill never bother trying this piece of shit game

[iffi]

It's really not that bad if you don't pay attention to it... beyond having to unlock the classes themselves, at least. I for one haven't really felt like they're pushing me too hard to purchase something.

[Syrion]

This is already an excellent free game. Pay at least $10, which I find the game is easily worth it, and you'll be able to unlock several weapons and gain +50% XP indefinitely. For me that's a very attractive deal.

When the game has more maps, modes, custom servers and stuff, I think it could easily be treated as a full-price game, at which point paying $40 should get you most of the stuff you'd want to play with.
And even then, upgrades to your equipment still can't be bought with real money, so they will always have to be unlocked by playing, though at rather affordable "prices".


So far, I am really fond of the system.

[Blademasterbobo]

disgusting

[J-Snake]

This is already an excellent free game. Pay at least $10, which I find the game is easily worth it, and you'll be able to unlock several weapons and gain +50% XP indefinitely. For me that's a very attractive deal.

I smell something is rotten.

[s0]

if theres one thing we didnt need to import from the korean game industry its shit like this especially not for games that are ostensibly "competitive"

[xrabohrok]

On its own merits, the game proper is pretty good.  Skiing at 200km/hr with explosions all around you is something I haven't experienced in a long time, and now it's in HD.  

As for the leveling thing.  I only seem to get something like 10 xp per kill (averaging at 60xp a game), so most of my xp is the 2k "first-win-of-the-day" bonus.  If that bonus was smaller but XP per kill were boosted, it wouldn't hurt so bad.  Or make the guns less expensive.  

[Dragonmaw]

I generally end with about 500-1k unboosted XP at the end of a match.

[BlueSweatshirt]

if theres one thing we didnt need to import from the korean game industry its shit like this especially not for games that are ostensibly "competitive"

If this was the korean model all unlocks would be time-limited and you would be able to directly buy stat enhancing items, such as increased damage, speed, etc. I do not see how this system affects gameplay negatively, where in a korean model it often can.(if the game is competitive, of course) It's a typical level-up-to-unlock system, if not currently overpriced if you don't have any kind of boost, just like Call of Duty or Battlefield 3. I dislike the systems in those games because I feel such artificial progression is pointless, but I am much more accepting of it in this game for its F2P model. F2P does not mean you shouldn't ever spend any money on the game. You're entitled to play for free, yes, and it's generous of developers to make the experience so accessible for people who don't want to(or can't, even) pony up cash. In fact, I feel this game is very worth my money. It is of great quality, particularly compared to most F2P games which usually offer a lower quality of content and a more predatory business model. Hell, for buying ONE THING(lowest purchase is $5 I think) you get a permanent 50% boost in XP.

End rant. 

[iffi]

I generally end with about 500-1k unboosted XP at the end of a match.

As do I. Really, the F2P isn't as bad as it sounds. It certainly isn't getting in the way of me having fun in the game.

And Jakman speaks the truth. I've played several F2P shooters in the past few years, mostly Korean ones, and Tribes: Ascend sports a far friendlier F2P model than any of the Korean F2P FPS's I've played.

[namragog]

Just unlocked the technician class through playing (no moneys lost) and I have to say that it's kind of bad until I unlock the thumper. Aiming successfully with the SMG is impossible without hitscan. Although now I get a lot more XP due to at least 50 repairs a round.

[Dragonmaw]

Thumper will make you so much better as a Tech. I would honestly recommend biting the bullet and buying it with real money. It's vastly superior to the SMG, except maybe for chasing flag carriers.

[BlueSweatshirt]

I think you're right.
For the situations techs are usually in the thumper is much more suited.

[Dragonmaw]

To note, shooting someone with any bullet weapon isn't too hard if you are moving parallel to them, and the SMG isn't bad for midair duels. But it's terrible for the Tech's primary role (gen/base defense)

[Syrion]

[...]
End rant. 

Yup. I'd be one of the last to say that I like newer developments like DLC and Free 2 Play games. But, for what it's worth, there are a few examples of developers still making such systems suit me rather well, and as regards F2P League of Legends or Tribes Ascend are some of them.

Though, I must admit, it does get rather uncomfortable with adverts like how you can currently 250 Gold for free by liking Tribes Ascend on Facebook. Which I did, not using my normal account, because hey, it's free. But, it doesn't feel comfortable doing that.

[Dragonmaw]

New update added little badges that unlock with cumulative kills, repairs, flag grabs, etc. They also give you XP (the in-game currency).

You can rack up like 30k xp in an hour now.

Needless to say I'm quite pleased. Much better unlock curve.

[Blademasterbobo]

Thumper will make you so much better as a Tech. I would honestly recommend biting the bullet and buying it with real money. It's vastly superior to the SMG, except maybe for chasing flag carriers.

how can you live with yourselves

[iffi]

New update added little badges that unlock with cumulative kills, repairs, flag grabs, etc. They also give you XP (the in-game currency).

You can rack up like 30k xp in an hour now.

Needless to say I'm quite pleased. Much better unlock curve.

That's good to hear, I haven't played since the update yesterday so I haven't tested the new badges for myself but if they really do make that much of a difference I might actually be able to unlock everything I want someday.

Edit: They've implemented the profile page that keeps track of your stats and such, and also awards badges for doing various things (that's where the exp's coming from). It still seems to be a bit buggy though - it says I played 1 hour 52 minutes when I'm sure it was much less than that (it's recorded two CTF matches, neither of which I was in for the entire duration).

Also, they seem to have done something with the animations for switching weapons that's made the animations for putting away the old weapon and taking out the new weapon slightly overlap, which looks weird when you briefly have two guns clipping into each other on the screen. o_O
I guess it really is a beta...